Street homelessness in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish decreased 24% between January 2024 and July 2025 — the result of a public-private partnership among government, business, philanthropy and nonprofits to provide housing and services to the most vulnerable.
Unfortunately, this progress will soon disappear if recently announced severe federal cust to housing vouchers, especially the evisceration of Permanent Support Housing for people with disabilities experiencing homelessness, are allowed to be implemented.
The persistence of New Orleans’ homelessness problem is rooted in its housing affordability crisis. New Orleans now has the highest income gap of any major city in the nation, with the top 20% of the population having incomes nearly eight times higher than the bottom 20% of the population. Twenty-three percent of New Orleanians live below the poverty line.
In addition, property insurance rates here have skyrocketed due to concerns about climate change in the reinsurance industry. These factors have led to a 24% rise in fair market rents. That means that five years ago, a one-bedroom apartment that rented for $899 a month is now $1,113 per month, while wages have remained relatively stagnant.
All of this makes it unsurprising that at least 4,300 people in our community become homeless each year.
Unfortunately, on Nov. 13, the federal government announced that the homelessness services and rent assistance grants — on which vulnerable children and adults depend — are to be severely slashed. This would have a disproportionate impact on the New Orleans area, where these federal funds are used to provide housing and stabilization services to more than 3,500 disabled, elderly or vulnerable adults and children. We expect that at least 2,000 of these persons, previously rescued from homelessness, would be tossed back out on the streets. Local landlords who depend on rent subsidies would also be effected.
As the nonprofit lead agency for our community’s homeless housing and services collaborative, UNITY of Greater New Orleans and our member organizations are working to protect lifesaving services through coordinated advocacy and coalition-building. Immediate priorities include advocacy for:
- No cuts to Permanent Supportive Housing for people with disabilities rescued from homelessness;
- Full renewal of federal Tenant-Based Rental Assistance and Emergency Housing Vouchers for impoverished people to prevent mass housing loss and prevent increased homelessness;
- Protection of Medicaid
Funding cuts threaten to hollow out the very programs proven to work to end homelessness. We need everyone to advocate and contribute to proven solutions.
The good news is that New Orleans businesses have the opportunity to be a big part of the solution. Here’s how you can help:
- Contact your U.S. senators and members of Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, and urge them not to cut Rental Assistance and Permanent Supportive Housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Explain that you are a member of the business community and let them know that the proposed federal cuts in permanent housing would cause homelessness to soar.
- Donate to UNITY to support our Housing Fund, which provides emergency assistance to end and prevent people’s homelessness and provides very inexpensive furnishings and move-in kits for moving people off the street and shelters into apartments, thereby ending their homelessness.
- Join UNITY’s Community Task Force to Reduce Street Homelessness headed by business leader Bill Hines and retired judge Calvin Johnson.
Many local business organizations have already been deeply involved in our work housing the most vulnerable. The current challenges require even more business leadership. It hurts everyone, including our business community, if thousands of people are tossed out on the street.
Dr. Chandra Crawford is vice president of public policy and governmental communications for UNITY of Greater New Orleans, a nonprofit organization leading the homeless housing and services collaborative of agencies for New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. She may be reached via email at ccrawford@unitygno.org.
